Unless your Lasik surgeon can channel Superman, then you probably are not among the few in Alaska that can see Russia, and none of them can see Portugal, but lucky locals will have the chance to see Portugal. The Man Saturday night at the Santa Barbara Bowl or Sunday at the second and final weekend of Coachella down in Indio. Chicano Batman will open in S.B., while PTM will be one of many acts entertaining the many more sun-drenched music fans, working on their tans and hangovers simultaneously.

Portugal the country, initiated the Transatlantic slave trade back in the 15th century, but the small country on the Iberian Peninsula has changed substantially over the last 550 years. These days the Portuguese live in a liberal democracy that has legalized all drugs. Portugal the Man has no such baggage.

Most of the band members are from Wasila, Alaska, but now have settled, evidently happily, in the People’s Republic of Portland. They are still working, "Woodstock," their eighth album from last summer that contains the smash hit, "Feel It Still." They may, in fact, feel it forever as that one was good for a 2018 Grammy.

Coachella, requiring considerably more effort than that leisurely drive up the coast to S.B., is definitely the place to see new music and be seen. There’s the rock stars – this year that would be Eminem, Beyonce and the Weeknd – also some geezers of rock, lots of dance music but mostly a bunch of bands that you’ve never heard of. But by Monday, they’ll be bands that you can no longer live without.

The Coachella pocket schedule is printed the same every year. The bigger the band, the larger the print and nearer to the top. This year, PTM is a heartbeat away from the Eminem sized print.

Coachella has grown exponentially since the first one in 1999. For the longest time, it was two days, one weekend, then it was three days, one weekend, and now it’s three days two weekends with the Redneck Coachella – Stagecoach – slated for the weekend of the 27th.

The promoters, Goldenvoice has come a long way from promoting punk rock shows at the Goleta Valley Community Center back in the ‘80s. They’ve owned the 280-acre Coachella site, still amazingly, gopher free.

Coachella is sort of a one-stop shopping trip that rocks and runs like clockwork on a number of stages and inside a number of huge tents. The T-shirt booth alone is larger than most venues where we see bands the rest of the year.

Channeling the calm before the storm and enjoying a short break from relentless touring, PTM’s drummer, Jason Sechrist, closing in on achieving perspective, had the phone duty this day of gentle hammering…

Jason, you called on time. You must always start on time…

Yeah, pretty cool, right?

You guys might be the only ones…

Is that right?

What’s happening with Portugal? What’s the latest with you wonderful guys?

Well, you know, we’ve been quite busy boys. Things have been going great. We just got done this weekend supporting the March For Our Lives, and that was really cool to do. And we’ve done a couple of studio days, kinda working on some new songs, and also just trying to enjoy a little bit of rest and resetting; then we’re going out to do the Coachella run and the Santa Barbara gig. Then heading out to Australia after that.

How did "Woodstock" do? Are you guys rich rock stars now? And where does it fit in with your vast body of work? Wow – that’s three questions…

Well, we like to evolve, and we don’t like to make the same record twice. It’s been that way the whole time. That keeps it exciting. It’s just fun to explore. So, yeah, "Woodstock" is doing well, man. It’s going fast. It’s crazy. I can’t believe "Feel It Still" has been out for a year…it doesn’t even feel like that.

When that song hit it big, what’s the first thing you bought that you couldn’t afford before?

Honestly, I haven’t had much time to go shopping, but the wife made me finally order a new bed. We did a little upgrade there. I’m looking forward to it as most of us spend from 25 to 33 percent in there.

But you’re hardly ever home…

Yeah, I know, but I’ll get to enjoy it from time to time, but I’m stoked that the wife gets to lie on it.

Portugal. The Man will play the Santa Baraba Bowl April 21 with Chicano Batman and Deep Valley.(Photo: CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/MACLAY HERIOT)

A happy wife makes a happy life…

Oh yeah…

So what was your big break or have you had it yet?

You know, we’re running into awesome surprises every time we go out. Every time we go out, there’s support from just incredible artists. It’s really nice and pretty crazy because we’ve been working at this for a long time, and to see this support on TV – that’s pretty wild stuff to cross over from rock 'n' roll.

So you guys write a song, record it, and then go out on the road to some place you’ve never been and people are singing along? That’s power, man – or magic maybe…

That’s true, yeah, but the other thing that’s funny about that is when your song gets covered by a marching band.

Wow, that’s weird…also a first time I’ve ever heard that one…

Yeah, and you know, a lot of colleges have picked up "Feel It Still," and it sounds great. There’s already horns in the song, and so that’s fun and it’s a quick, positive number. It kind of wakes you up, I think. It’s a good one for marching bands.

Speaking of marching – which March for Our Lives did you guys play?

We are in Portland, Oregon.

That made for some compelling live TV.

Yeah, that was a big, important event. I have a 5-month-old son now, and hopefully, when he goes to school, this isn’t going to be an issue that I have to deal with. I don’t want to hear about this stuff being a problem in five or 10 years.

You’ve been in and out of the band three times – what’s up with that?

For myself…sometimes the road gets to be too much for me. Since we pit stop in Oregon and that’s where we spend the majority of our time off the road because that’s where we live, but then the guys will take such a small break and be ready to go again. And sometimes for me, after a couple of years of running laps around the planet, I kinda get burned out as far as wanting to do that.

Understandable, you appear to have achieved perspective. Who inspired you early on to be the drummer? Did you see someone and think, "Wow, I wanna do that?"

I think when your parents are playing music actively when you’re a young child – that goes a long way. So I remember my mom spinning a lot of David Bowie and Van Morrison records and that was exciting, you know? There really wasn’t a TV on so it was more about records when I was 3, 4 or 5 years old, and then I got to see MTV take off and I got to watch Alex Van Halen on the drums, and you get to find out what "Dark Side of the Moon" is all about and next thing you know, you’re totally immersed.

Did you piss the neighbors off by playing the drums all night?

I’ll tell you what…luckily, I didn’t get around to going crazy on the drum set until I was 18 years old, so it wasn’t something I was doing at 8-years-old or anything like that, but obviously, I love John Bonham. He’s one of the best of all time. He’s got what it takes. He’s got that sound.

That’s right. I saw Keith Moon once and that guy blew my mind.

Yeah, what a punk rocker he was. He invented that spirit.

Absolutely. So are you guys from Alaska originally?

The singer, John (Gourley), the bass player Zach (Carothers) and Eric (Howk), the guitarist – those guys were all born and raised in Alaska. I’m the only one from Portland.

Home of the Dandy Warhols – one of my favorite bands.

Yeah, there were a couple of their songs that really got me and I used to listen to them traveling around in a van.

"Thirteen Tales of Urban Bohemia" is one of the best albums – ever.

Isn’t it great? The first four tracks on that one are perfect. They’re just really, really good.

Since you’re not from Alaska, you rendered my next question irrelevant. I was going to ask if you could see Portugal from Wasila?

(Laughs) Only Russia, really.

So would Sarah Palin wear a Portugal. the Man shirt?

Probably, I would imagine so…why not?

So would you guys wear a Sarah Palin shirt?

Nah…because there’s too many good shirts to wear.

A politically correct answer. Tell me about the festival scene. You guys seem to be at all of the biggies…like Coachella, where you might actually get to see some other bands.

Yeah, just talking shop and seeing what’s going on with us, and hopefully, if there’s any break from the press, I’d like to see an act or two.

You guys have played Coachella before, right?

Yeah, there’s been two visits by the band over the last few years, but this year is going to be a real good slot for us.

Yeah, you guys are up there in the big print this time.

Yeah, it’s pretty exciting. I love the festival scenario. I like open air. I’m an open-air guy.

Coachella has lots of that. So what was the strangest gig you’ve ever played?

You know…strange shows…you learn to love ‘em but when you’re doing the European gigs in the beginning, sometimes you’ll show up to a gig and you’ll wonder, "How are we supposed to have a show here? It’s like a restaurant right now." Yeah, so it’ll be like a restaurant and then at 6 o’clock they’ll yank all the tables and chairs out, and next thing you know, you go to dinner and you come back and there’s 300 people drinking beer and smoking cigarettes, waiting for you to play. Now that’s a wild experience.

I have to ask. Have you guys been to Portugal?

Yeah, yeah, we have. There’s a festival there that we’ve done a couple of times; you know, just basic touring but we really haven’t hit it that hard.

What are some of the cool places you’ve been to? Do you routinely get your mind blown waking up in some wonderful, exotic place?

I try to keep that perspective daily because that’s kind of the hippie in me. Wherever you wake up in the morning and you make it to the next city, I try to tell myself to take in the sights, breathe that good fresh air and see what the town’s all about. I love the Bay Area and I love Southern California. I’m a West Coast dude, but Red Rocks is always special. Even getting a gig where you can look out over the ocean – that’s also great.

I like the outdoors ones where you can see people really enjoying themselves. I think concrete punk rock buildings are great, too. I like the rock boxes, but there’s something special about seeing the stars and the moon and all that kind of stuff when you’re out there playing.

Who’s the drunkest person you ever saw that wasn’t you or in your band?

I would imagine they’d be passed out, lying in their own spit, which we have come across from time to time; and I guess, we’ve all been there before. All I can say is "Good luck on the next day, man…" It’s crazy if you’ve gotta work that next day, no matter what you do.

You’ve been everywhere. Who’s got the best beer?

Honestly, I think there’s great beer all over, everywhere. If you like sticking to the rules, obviously Germany has some incredible beer. Austria has some good beer. Michigan has some good beer. They’ve got some good breweries going on there, and Colorado, but basically, the West Coast owns it. Portland is fine, and we like to have a good time. If you’re 21, you can have a lot of fun here.

How do you get up for a gig night after night?

Because it’s the coolest – the best job in the world. Secondly, there’s a lot more that goes into a show than just your stage time; you know, there’s set-up and tear down, interviews, meet and greet people – all sorts of stuff. But in the end, it’s just like an hour and a half of critical work that’s there for you to like, embrace and enjoy and try to light this fire that you guys have every night.

People don’t see the other 22 hours. They just see you guys up there rocking out and having fun.

Yeah, the one thing I try to do is have a little power nap, maybe an hour or two before playing. It usually resets my energy and gets me all centered and focused, and then I’m ready to go, yeah. Just be ready to stay up until four o’clock every day.

You guys have music in cool TV shows like "The Walking Dead" and "Shameless," I would think that’s pretty awesome.